Wednesday

Despite a focused comeback effort from Tri-County, Old Colony and its strong rushing attack proved to be too much in a 35-28 defeat for the Franklin-based vocational school.

BELLINGHAM — Success is often only measured in wins and losses, but the record doesn’t always tell the whole tale.

And the Tri-County football program is one where the wins and losses at the end of the year don’t quite give the entire story of the season.

Tri-County entered its Thanksgiving Eve contest against Old Colony at Bellingham High with only two wins to its name, one of those in T-C’s most recent game against the Atlantis Charter School of Fall River.

That meant T-C coach Anthony Mazzola could hope for a small winning streak at the end of the season to spur his young team into a productive offseason.

But despite a focused comeback effort from T-C, Old Colony and its strong rushing attack proved to be too much in a 35-28 defeat for the Franklin-based vocational school.

T-C ends its season at 2-8, while Old Colony improves to 8-2.

“These kids showed a lot of pride and a lot of toughness,” Mazzola said. “They didn’t quit. We try to preach to these guys about the value of not giving up and fighting until the end. They really did that tonight. We kept our heads up and kept fighting.

“We were down three touchdowns. Maybe if we’re down 14 or seven, it might have been a different game. Kudos to Old Colony they have a really good football team over there.”

Down 21-0 right before halftime, T-C needed a significant comeback just to get back in the game.

Tri-County did just that after fielding a kickoff with 1:35 left in the first half.

On the first play of the drive, junior Richard Meunier broke off a 56-yard run to bring T-C to the Old Colony 4-yard line.

After three unsuccessful run plays, sophomore quarterback Tyler Saunders dropped back, and after some scrambling, found his brother Scott, a junior, for a 2-yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining in the first half.

After receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, T-C got right to work. On the second play of the drive, sophomore Jordan Pina broke a few tackles and dashed up the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown run that was aided by a downfield block from junior Evan Langille.

That play brought T-C within seven points of Old Colony with 8:54 left in the third quarter.

“If this was early on in the season, we would have gotten blown out. No doubt about it,” Mazzola said. “If this was September or October we would have gotten beat by four touchdowns, but I think it’s a testament to how well my assistant coaches have been doing in teaching these young kids and the growth that they’ve made throughout the season.”

Old Colony was not about to roll over, however, and extended its lead back to 14 points on the ensuing possession via a 36-yard touchdown run by senior Brad Plissey.

With 6:13 left in the third quarter and down by two touchdowns, T-C again attempted to claw back from a multi-score deficit.

The overall drive was not too impressive from a statistical standpoint, but T-C managed to advance down the field thanks to a 15-yard pass interference penalty and a 15-yard facemask by Old Colony’s defense.

T-C eventually found the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 6-yard rushing touchdown from Langille.

Now down just seven points in the fourth quarter, the flames of a comeback had been stoked by T-C.

After a failed onside kick, Old Colony spoiled the mood once more as Plissey found the end zone again with an 8-yard run with 4:26 remaining to make the score 35-21.

T-C stalled on its next drive and punted the ball away, only for junior Perrin Aube to recover a fumble three plays later.

T-C eventually progressed down the field, thanks again to two 15-yard penalties against Old Colony, and scored on an 8-yard rush by quarterback Tyler Saunders with 1:45 left in the game.

After an onside kick went out of bounds, Old Colony knelt on the final plays to seal the 35-28 victory.

“I’m proud of everyone. I thought we did a great job,” Tyler Saunders said. “My teammates were great. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. I’m just really grateful for this team.”

With a smile, he added, "All I can say is that Old Colony better watch out next year.”

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